Recipes

½ pound of caul fat, rinsed and patted dry (ask your local butcher) We found ours at Philbricks Fresh Market)

1 bunch of thyme (chopped)

1 sprig of rosemary (chopped)

4 leaves of sage (chopped)

Equipment:

Needle nose plyers

Large plastic wrap

Butchers twine

Sharp knife

Sous vide set up at 151 degrees F.

One large Ziploc style bag

To prep the Turkey:

1. Debone the Turkey legs & thighs by carefully slicing down the bone line, tracing the leg & thigh bone. Be careful to not cut all the way through to the other side! You only want to slice through one side of the skin. Once you pull the bones out, double-check the flesh for any bone fragments, cartilage, or bloody spots and remove them.

2. Lay the deboned leg skin-side down on your work surface. On the side that was connected to the drum bone, you should see about a dozen tendons of varying sizes and hardnesses.

Using a pair of needle-nose pliers and a small paring knife, start pulling the tendons out, with the back of your knife holding the flesh in place. Most of the tendons will slide right out no problem, but there are a couple that spread out into large flaps of silver skin. These tend to be a little more firmly connected. You may need to scrape at them with the edge of your knife to loosen them and pull them out.

3. Once all the tendons are removed, season the legs liberally with some kosher salt on both sides. This is important as it will “brine” the meat and keep it moist. Season meat with the chopped herbs.

4. Set your roll of plastic wrap on the top edge of your work surface. Arrange it so that if you lifted the loose edge of plastic wrap, the roll would roll toward you. This will help you keep the plastic tight while forming the roulade.

Pull enough plastic over your work surface to cover it completely, plus a little extra over the edge. Be sure that it is completely tight, with no wrinkles, or it will make for a loose roulade.

Place the caul fat down on the plastic like a large flat piece of paper, then place the first leg down on the caul fat, skin-side down. Place the second leg on top of it, skin-side up. Try to put the thickest parts of the legs on opposite sides, so you’ll end up with a nice, even roulade. Place the second piece of caul fat over the top of the leg and over lap the two ends of caul fat. Trim off any excess fat.

Now, pull the loose edge of the plastic (the side closest to you) taut, and pull up and over the wrapped legs. While keeping the plastic taut, roll over four times. Grasp firmly on the edges of the roulade and pull the plastic outward. Poke a few holes through the plastic and into the center of the flesh. This helps any trapped air escape, making for a tighter roulade.

Roll over a couple more times and repeat. Roll a couple more times and cut the plastic.

Roll the ends of the roulade in opposite directions, so that the ends of the plastic compress the roulade into a tight cylinder. Tie the plastic off in a knot as close to the roulade as possible. Cut two lengths of twine just over a foot long and tie them on the ends of the roulade. Tie the knots so that you leave one short and one long end.

Using the long side of the twine, twist around and down (toward the roulade). This will take up any slack in the plastic and make for an extremely tight roulade. Repeat on the other side. The roulade should feel very taut and spring back when you squeeze it.

Place roulade in a ziplock-style bag and gently lower the bag, unsealed, into the water. The water will cause air to escape from the bag. Clip the bag to the side of the pot.

Cook for 4 hours.

Remove from the water bath and take out of the bag. Carefully pat it dry. Then brush with vegetable oil and re season with salt.

To bake: crank your oven up to 475 °F and bake for about ten minutes or until golden brown on all sides.

Deep-frying works great too. Heat a large pot of canola oil to 400 °F / 204 °C, and fry the roulade until golden brown, about two minutes per side. Allow to dry and crisp up before slicing.